Thank You
by Tawny
Molina
"Monday July 1st,
2024
Thank you for being there
when no one else was
there for me.
Sincerely, Em."
The note was left on Peter's
doorstep. It was
weird. He did not know anyone named 'Em.' Maybe they had left it on the wrong door.
There were plenty of apartments in the building. Wait, was Em that old lady he
had helped from her car with all those groceries? Could have also been the
mailman he'd given a bottle of water to. Guy names started with Em as well.
Eh... Whatever.
"Tuesday July 2nd,
2024
Thank you for always being
such a dependable
person.
Sincerely, Em."
Another letter. Now Peter
was curious. He'd
just moved here a few weeks ago. Maybe it was whoever had this apartment before
he did. He should probably call management and see if they had gotten anything
on the security cameras. Maybe the guard could tell whoever it was that they
needed to find out their friend's new address.
"Wednesday July 3rd,
2024
It was great seeing you
again.
Sincerely, Em."
Seeing this letter as soon
as he came home was
particularly weird for Peter. He'd stopped in the security office on the way to
work and they had told him the former occupant hadn't had many guests. As for
who was leaving the notes, they mentioned the person who always showed up after
Peter left for work. She placed the note and departed the building. Beyond that,
security never saw her do anything weird on the videos they watched.
"Thursday July 4th,
2024
Those fireworks were pretty
amazing, weren't
they? It was a pity we had to sit so far apart. Still, it was nice to see you
even from a distance.
With love, Em."
Now Peter was extra confused.
He'd certainly
gone to see the fireworks at the local park. But he had sat with his girlfriend
on a blanket, a few friendly waves to people he knew. Still, he certainly did
not know anyone named Em, and even more so, no one aside from his girlfriend
that he would have been close enough to exchange words such as 'love' Perhaps
he should text her. Maybe this was all some kind of joke?
"Friday July 5th,
2024
Did you make a new friend?
I saw a new car
outside your place this morning.
With love, Em."
Yep, this was weird. There
was a new car
outside his place. His girlfriend’s. She'd come over the night before after he
had texted her about the weird messages. They were supposed to go over to her
place after, but the two had a few drinks, and neither had been in a condition
to drive. But now that he knew someone was watching, he thought it was probably
a fair idea to go just to her place for a while.
"Saturday, July 6th,
2024
I like your new curtains.
I'd love to know
where you got them.
Thank you, Em."
Curtains. Peter had never
been so disturbed by
someone liking his curtains. Whoever this Em person was, they sure were
watching him closely. Those curtains had been a gift from his mother he'd just
put up the evening before. Who was watching his windows... maybe if he looked
out them, he could tell who was sitting out there every day. But he couldn't
put his life on hold to stare out his window and take notes.
"Sunday July 14th,
2024
Where have you been?
Love, Em."
Peter found the note pinned
to his door. He
read it slowly, carefully several times. He had been gone. He'd stayed over at
his girlfriend's house to try and avoid these, but he finally had to come back
for clothing. He'd told the police, but they had basically laughed at him. What
kind of guy was afraid of some unknown person? It was probably just some ex
being weird or something they said. We'll keep an eye out, they said. We can't
really do anything if you aren't being threatened, they said. Well, it wasn't a
threat, but it was concerning. This person even watched when he left.
"Monday July 15th,
2024
I've been looking for you,
Pete."
When he got home the next
day from work and
picked up the letter, he knew the mood had changed. Not only did the writer use
his name, but they also had not signed it. Maybe he was reading too much into
it, but he did not feel the sort of twisted whimsy that usually seemed to
accompany the notes of his stalker. He crumpled up the letter and shoved it in
his pocket as he fished for his keys in his jacket, finally pulling them out
just as he heard someone walking down the hall.
He lifted his keys to the
door, the steps
growing close as he forced the key into the lock. The footsteps stopped behind
him, and he whipped around, alarm evident on his face as he stared at his
expected stalker. Instead, he found himself face to face with one of the
security officers of the apartment.
"You ok, man?" The security
guard
asked.
"Yeah, sorry, got another
letter." He
said, showing the crumpled-up piece of paper to the guard.
The guard took the paper
and uncrumpled it.
"Tsk, man, you can't crumple up evidence like this. It makes it hard to
read. Let's head down to the office and file a proper report on this."
It did not take long for
the two to arrive at
the security office. Peter had only been here a couple of times to discuss the
strange notes. But constantly staffed security was one of the reasons he had
chosen this apartment complex even if it had not worked to his benefit so far.
As they walked in, Peter
looked up at the
various monitors and screens of the security office, expecting to see cameras
all tuned to entrances. His blood ran cold as he noticed each monitor was
focused on him, his things, his home. His apartment door, the door he used to
leave, his windows, his car. All displayed in full view. The door closed with a
click of a lock behind him.
"My
name's Emmit, by the way." The
security guard said in a friendly tone.
